[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

With Rudra from the poison-cup.
24
Aspects of Tantra
Alexander the Great is reported to have encountered ascetics during his visit to
India in 326 BC. Practices of self-denial which continue up to the present day include
vows of silence, standing constantly for years, standing on one leg, or holding one
arm continuously in the air for years. It is believed that through such practices, both
illumination and magical powers may be attained. These naked wonder-workers had
their origins in the pre-Vedic traditions which flourished before the Aryan Invasion
and the establishment of the Brahminic Tradition.
The Pásupatas
The roots of the Pásupatas are lost in antiquity, although some scholars trace them
to a Dravindian Sect, which was driven underground during the Aryan invasion.
There does seem to be a general consensus that the Pásupatas were one of the earliest
Saivate sects. These ascetics behaved in the fashion of poor madmen; gibbering non-
sense, twitching, snoring, limping, making lewd gestures to women, rolling in dirt,
bathing in ashes and masturbating in public. By courting disfavour from others, the
Pásupatas demonstrated that they had lost their attachment to pride and egotistical
tendencies, in emulation of Rudra-Siva.
The name of this sect is derived from Pásupati (or Pashupati) the  Lord of Animals ,
a title given to the god Rudra (lit.  roarer ). In the convoluted mythic cycles concern-
ing Rudra, it becomes apparent that Rudra is very much a wild god. He accepts all
kinds of sacrifices, and often has to make do with the leavings of other sacrifices or
libations that would be considered unfit for other gods. It is considered that what
may be viewed on the one hand as mythic humiliations of Rudra by the other gods,
should be considered as acts of ascetic detachment on the part of Pásupati, who is
also acclaimed as the supreme Yogi. Thus, the Pásupatas strove to attract the contempt
of others as the path to liberation. Also, the word Pásu or Pashu can be translated as
 beast , and in Tantra this is a classification applied to those who are entirely bound
up in the fetters of attachments - the greatest of which is Ignorance. The vow of the
Pásupatas was thus to remove the  noose of attachments.
The Kapalikas
The Kapalikas used a human skull as a food-bowl, bathed in the ashes from crema-
tions, and were believed to commit human sacrifice. Naturally, they inspired fear
and distaste in the orthodox. The term  Kapalika can be translated as  bearer of the
Skull-Bowl, and these sadhus worshipped Bhairava, the Supreme Beggar, a terrible
aspect of Shiva, who carried with him the severed fifth head of Brahma, which he had
cut off, using his left thumbnail. In expiation for his sin, Bhairava made the Kapalika
vow, which was to roam the world, begging, until the skull fell from his hand.
An associated legend tells of the meeting of Bhairava with a group of forest-dwelling
sages. The sages practiced austerities and tended a sacred fire, and they did not rec-
ognise Shiva-Bhairava, who appeared as a naked mendicant, carrying only the skull-
bowl. He howled and danced, appearing as a madman with a black face. Not only did
this startling apparition disturb the rites of the sages, he also attracted their women
to him. The sages cursed the lingam of this supreme beggar, and it fell, transformed
into a pillar of fire. Some variants of the legend say that another linga appeared to
replace that which had fallen, and when the sages saw it, it too was cursed, and fell to
earth in a blaze of fire, only to be replaced instantaenously by another linga, which
in turn too was cursed, and so on. In another, after the linga fell, Bhairava vanished.
In a third version, Bhairava leaves the forest, accompanied by the frenzied women
24 25
Aspects of Tantra
of the sages. He appears at the house of Vishnu, whereupon his passage is barred by
Visvaksena, Vishnu s doorkeeper, who does not recognise Bhairava. The unfortunate
doorkeeper is slain by Bhairava, using a trident (the weapon commonly associated
with Shiva). Vishnu then caused blood to spurt from his forehead, in an attempt to
fill the skull-bowl which Bhairava carried. Bhairava dances on, carrying the corpse
of Visvaksena and a skull full of the blood of the preserver, until he reaches the holy
city of Varanasi (Banaras), after which he is liberated from the skull vow.
This legend, complex as it is, is woven around the crime of brahminicide - the killing
of a Brahmin. Bhairava is one of those paradoxical figures of Indian myth - he has [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]